A Blast From the Past
by A'isha Ishtar
Summary: After a jutsu gone awry, the Kazekage encounters a problem he never even considered. Said problem is a redheaded little child with tanuki eyes and trouble fitting in. Oh, also he's got the same name as the Kazekage. That's right; it's time for Gaara to meet and care for his six-year-old self. In the process, he'll have to face down demons he thought he dealt with a long time ago.


**Blehh... I don't even know how I came up with this idea. It just seemed really cute, and I've seen a few pics on deviantArt of Gaara meeting his younger self, so I figured why not? I WUV WIDDLE GAARA. CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF HIM.**

**I OWN NOTHING! I don't own Naruto, Gaara, or widdle Gaara, although I wish I did. I would huggle widdle Gaara and give him candy and cookies and stay awake with him~ *heart***

**I do have one problem though, lol. Maybe you guys can help?**

**... I don't know what to call little Gaara in this story. I have the adult one I'm calling Gaara in the non-dialogue, and I was thinking maybe "Gaawa" for the little one in the non-dialogue? What should I call little Gaara? Should I use "Gaawa" or something else? Review with suggestions please, or else he'll be known as "the child" forever lol!**

**I hope you all enjoy! :D**

* * *

"Five words, Kankuro. _Five words._" The teenage Kazekage glared at his older brother. "I said, 'Be careful with that jutsu.' And what did you do? You weren't careful. You used too much chakra. You used _my_ name instead of your own. And on top of that, you tacked... _something_ on the end to make it indefinite. We can't get rid of it, nor do we know when it's going to wear off. Do you have _anything_ to say in your defense?"

The dark-haired puppeteer grinned nervously, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Uhm..." He knew it hadn't been the wisest idea to attempt an experimental jutsu using his brother's name, but he'd wanted to see what would happen. He thought the results would vanish about five minutes after they appeared. Apparently, Temari had been completely fucking with him when she told him about the extra hand sign that was supposed to be a guard against mistakes. She probably figured he knew it was a prank, that he'd never be dumb enough to use it for a jutsu in battle, and it had been revenge for something he did. (What, he couldn't remember. But he was sure he'd done something.) "... At least he's cute?"

Gaara sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. This was ridiculous. Why did _he_ have to deal with something like this? Couldn't the universe have just stuck to giving him obscene amounts of paperwork as usual and call it a day? "He's not... I mean, _I'm_ not... wasn't... _cute._" He managed to say the word with all the disgust of someone who'd just swallowed something incredibly bitter and was trying not to spit it back out.

"He is so! Look at him." Kankuro gestured to the corner, where the root of their problem was currently cowering. "I'd go so far as to say he's freaking _adorable._"

Backed into the corner was a small, frail-looking child, who couldn't have been any older than six. His eyes were a sky blue color, outlined by dark rings of black that were reminiscent of a raccoon's eyes, and almost identically mirrored the Kazekage's own. Atop his head was a mop of bright, fiery red hair, sticking up in all directions as if nobody had taught him how to properly work a comb. He appeared to be frightened beyond all belief, pressed up against the wall and hugging his knees against his chest. It seemed that he didn't know who to be more afraid of; his older self, or Kankuro.

At last, Gaara decided to turn his gaze to the younger version of himself. He suspected his gaze was a bit too harsh, because the child immediately whimpered and threw both hands over his eyes, as if that prevented him from being seen. It was a flawed notion, but then children's logic was flawed in itself. Gaara knew why he did it; the kid was afraid of being judged. He remembered that feeling - wanting to be swallowed up by the earth just so he wouldn't have to feel all those hateful eyes on him. "What are we going to do with him? Or... with _me,_ I guess I should say?"

Kankuro shrugged, spreading his hands. "Hell, I don't know. It's not like we can just send him back to wherever he came from, is it? I don't even think we know where he came from. The past, maybe. And last time I checked, unless you did some major budget improvement, we don't have a time machine. I know this is my problem and all, but... maybe it'd be good for him to meet you. I mean, see what you've become - what he's going to become."

"I can't deal with this." For the first time, he audibly showed his frustration. His voice rose an octave, and he almost lost control of the emotion spilling into his words. "I really can't, Kankuro. Do you know how much paperwork I'm behind on? Not to mention there's the possibility of war looming over us, and... I just don't have time for something like this. I don't care what you do with him, as long as it doesn't interfere with my work."

"You don't mean that, Gaara." He saw the quick little bob of the child's head at the mention of his name, but he was back to covering his eyes when he realized that nobody was talking to him. "You care, and you know you care, and I know you know you care. You're not just gonna dump him off at an orphanage or something, are you? You can't do that, he's... he's _you!_"

"Well, then, I have no idea what to do."

"How 'bout 'let him stay with us till the jutsu wears off'?" Kankuro shot back. "I'll take_ Answers That Are Right in Front of Your Face_ for $200." He got up from his chair and looked over at the child, his demeanor softening a little. He walked over and knelt down in front of the redhead, reaching over to gently pull his little hands away from his face. Wow, it'd been a while since he'd had much contact with kids; he forgot how tiny they were compared to him. "Hey," he greeted softly. He didn't really care for children that much, but he did know you were supposed to avoid yelling or raising your voice when you were speaking to them. He didn't want to scare the kid even more. "Don't be scared, okay? We're not gonna hurt you or anything, I promise."

The kid just stared at him for a moment, eyes wide and looking like he was going to burst into tears at any second. He looked like he wanted to bury his face in his hands again, but the older boy's grip on his wrists was preventing it. He didn't say a word, deciding to concentrate on trying to fix his heavy breathing instead.

"Aww, come on, what's the matter, huh?" He carefully let go of the child's wrists, instead clasping his hands on the little one's shoulders. "It's me, Kankuro, your big brother. I know I'm not like you remember me, I've gotten older, but it's still me. Don't be upset or anything."

The young redhead blinked a few times, then tears slowly began to slip out of his eyes, and he reached up to rub at them. Little sobs and hiccups escaped from his chest as he started to cry.

"Oh, hey, no. Come on, don't... don't _do that,_ damn it..." Thinking fast, Kankuro pulled a tiny, unfinished puppet - not unlike an artist's model - from his pocket. "Here, look!" He attached chakra threads to the thing, moving it along the floor in front of him and making it dance. "Check out the silly puppet! It's doing a special little dance for you!"

The younger jinchuriki swiped an arm across his eyes and sniffled before looking down, fixing his gaze on the puppet. Finally he spoke, in a shaky voice that utterly lacked anything resembling self-confidence. "J... Just for _me?_" He sounded so small and uncertain, so afraid of the world and everything in it.

Relieved, the puppeteer made the doll twirl around a bit. "Yeah, just for you." Using the chakra strings he lifted the puppet up, holding it in front of the kid's face. "There, you can keep it."

"R-Really?" His eyes were glued on the little thing, wide and barely blinking.

"Yeah, sure. It can be your toy." He swung it closer. "Go on, Gaara, take it."

The older Gaara barely flinched, hearing his name used in reference to a different person. It was an odd situation, even though he knew the child technically _was_ him.

"..." The younger one reluctantly reached forward and wrapped his chubby fingers around the puppet, pulling it close. "I don't have any of my other toys..."

"You don't, do you? Of course not, they're probably all back wherever you came from..." Kankuro sighed, reaching up to scratch at the back of his head. "I'm sorry about this whole mess - it's really all my fault."

The child was busy holding the puppet up, pinching one of its limbs with his thumb and forefinger. He looked so fascinated with it. "It's okay," he mumbled, appearing to still not want to talk very loud. "I like my new toy."

"Well... good, I guess." Taking off his hat, he glanced over at the Kazekage. "Gaara... uh, I mean, the _older_ Gaara... I have a Jonin meeting I need to get to. Baki'll blow his top if I'm late again... and I don't think he'd be too happy if I brought a kid with me. I'll talk to him about this, but right now I think the kid would be a distraction in the meeting."

Gaara raised an eyebrow - or would if he'd had any - and shifted some papers on his desk. "So what are you saying?"

"I'm _saying..._" Kankuro carefully reached over and slid his hands under the child's arms, picking him up. He held the little one against his chest for a brief moment - which wasn't really so bad, it made him smile actually - as he stood up, walking over to the desk. "You're gonna be babysitting," he finished, setting the kid down in front of the desk.

Gaara's eye actually twitched; it didn't do that often, only when he was _really_ annoyed. "... What?"

"Well, _someone's_ gotta watch him!" Kankuro headed for the door. "I've gotta go, and I have no idea where Temari is. I don't have time to find anyone else. You're going to have to watch him, okay?"

Gaara made a face, glancing down at the child. He was sitting there, cross-legged, obliviously messing around with his new puppet. He probably wasn't even aware that the two older boys were talking at all. "... You know I don't like kids."

Kankuro shrugged, opening the door. "Neither do I, but he's not like other kids. You should know that. And besides, he's _you -_ how bad can he really be?"

"Well..." Feeling a little nervous, Gaara leaned back. He didn't feel able to focus on his paperwork now, for whatever reason. He just felt uneasy. "What am I supposed to do if he gets bored?"

"He won't! Look at him playing with that thing, he'll never get tired of it." The puppet master took a step out the door and waved down at the kid. "Bye, Gaara!" Then he looked up at the Kazekage, and he couldn't help but snicker at the predicament. "Bye, Gaara."

Good thing he was able to close the door before a torrent of sand smacked against it.

Gaara sighed, scowling as the sand made its way back to his gourd. "... Missed." He then looked back down at his younger self, who still wasn't smiling but seemed content to play with the puppet Kankuro had given him. The child didn't even look up, too entranced by trying to make the doll move as Kankuro had.

Maybe this was a good thing. Maybe it wasn't. But it had happened either way.


End file.
